The Twin | Kim Gyuvin ZB1

"Oppa, your lock screen is so pretty!" Gyeoul happened to get a look at the two snow globes on Gyuvin's phone screen as he tucked her in.

"I think so, too." He proudly showed off his phone wallpaper.

"I want to see, too." Seyeon, who was in the bed next to Gyeoul, sprung up from her lying position.

"Me too!" One by one, all the other girls in the room rose from their beds just to see Gyuvin's lock screen.

A knock on the door was heard in the middle of the chaos. The kids scurried back to their beds at once.

"What are you doing? I could hear the noise from outside."

Everyone in the room, including Gyuvin, breathed a sigh of relief, seeing it was Siwon and not any of the other caregivers behind the door.

"Unnie, you scared us!" Seyeon exclaimed.

"Ya, Kim Gyuvin, you're supposed to put them to bed." Siwon shot a glare at the alleged culprit.

"It wasn't my fault!" Gyuvin whined, feeling wronged.

The girls all giggled seeing their favourite oppa being scolded by their favourite unnie, showing no intention of defending Gyuvin.

"You should go to bed now, girls. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Siwon Unnie, Gyuvin Oppa." The girls said in unison.

"Sweet dreams." Gyuvin turned off the lights and exited the room with Siwon.

Neither of them needed to hurry back home since they were still on school holiday. They grabbed a can of drink from the kitchen and went to sit in the playroom in the dark. They'd been having a lot more of these moments together, where they just sat together and chatted.

"I don't think I ever asked, but do you know how each of the kids was sent here?"

"Not in detail, but I've heard accounts here and there from Wonjangnim and the caretakers. Like Noeul and Gyeoul, they were left at the door of the orphanage in a box when they were just months old. The parents left a letter, saying that they were incredibly sorry but couldn't afford to take care of them. They didn't mention any given names, so Wonjangnim had to name them. It was a day at sunrise during winter when she discovered them, hence 'Noeul' and 'Gyeoul'.

"Was Jeongwon found in a garden then?"

(In Korean, 'noeul' means the glow of sunrise/ sunset, 'gyeoul' means winter, and 'jeongwon' means garden.)

"No," Siwon let out a stifled laugh. "Jeongwon came to the orphanage when he was 6, so he already had a name. His mother passed away when he was a preschooler, and he was heavily abused by his father. I think he went to jail for what? 2 years?" She scoffed at how ridiculous the law was.

"Every child here has a different story." Siwon continued. "None of them are easy to listen to. It's because of all the love and patience Wonjangnim gives that they're able to heal from their trauma and grow up happily as they should."

"How about you? What's your story?"

For a long time, the two just gazed at each other's glistening eyes that reflected the bit of light outside the window. Siwon struggled internally, trying to hold back the desire to tell Gyuvin everything, while Gyuvin patiently waited, like always.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"I want to know everything about you."

She had nothing to lose, right? It would either drive Gyuvin away and everything would return to how it used to be, or he'd stay and nothing would change. Either way, it should not be affecting her too much. At least that's what Siwon tells herself.